The social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, is under scrutiny by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) following reports indicating a change in the platform's default settings. This change would allow the use of user data to train Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot, known as Grok. This situation has prompted the DPC to intensify its investigations into X, raising concerns among users and privacy advocates.
The DPC has been in communication with X about this matter for several months, with the most recent interaction occurring a day before the news became public. The commission expressed surprise at the recent developments and mentioned that they have requested a response from X, expecting further interactions at the beginning of next week.
Grok is an artificial intelligence chatbot designed to be witty, informative, and engaging, developed by xAI, a research company founded by Elon Musk. The controversy arose because the default settings of the X platform allow the use of posts, interactions, and other user data for the training and fine-tuning of the chatbot.
User Reactions
Various entities and users of the platform have warned about the need to disable this setting to protect their privacy. ProtonMail, an encrypted email service, guided its followers on X on how to disable the default setting. In a post on July 26, ProtonMail instructed its 304,500 followers to navigate to Settings > Privacy and security > Data sharing and personalization > Grok to disable the option.
This incident occurs shortly after Elon Musk announced his plans to make Grok open source, while a lawsuit against OpenAI, another developer of AI chatbots, gains momentum. Musk accused OpenAI of violating a foundational agreement that established the nonprofit organization should advance open general artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. This disagreement underscores tensions in the tech community regarding ethical use and transparency in AI development.
Comparisons with Other Social Networks
X is not the only platform that has used user data to train its AI systems. Recently, Meta informed users in the EU and the UK about an upcoming change that would allow the use of public content on Facebook and Instagram to train its AI. However, the company eventually paused its plans due to regulatory pressure.
The debate over the use of personal data for the development of artificial intelligence technologies raises important questions about privacy and consent. As digital platforms continue to evolve and expand their capabilities, balancing innovation and respect for user rights becomes increasingly crucial.
